sticksandbones | EVENT & TDM 020

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EVENT & TDM 020

WAKES AND AWAKENINGS

Are you one to find yourself plagued with nightmares? Do you dream at all? Well, worry not, because tonight you find yourself in a somewhat alarming peace. You’re asleep. You’re aware of this. Yet, you feel incredibly lucid, all the same.

You hear the sound of water, like you’re under the ocean waves. You don’t see anything, but it’s almost as if you can feel others around you, despite not touching anything at all. They’re your… family? No. Friends? No. You don’t seem to be able to find a word to describe them. They’re important to you! …You think. Who are they, again?

You think they’re trying to speak to you, but all you can hear is the sound of gentle currents and air bubbles. Or maybe this is what they’re saying to you? You don’t know. Dreams are weird, aren’t they? But then they sing. It’s the prettiest sound you’ve heard. It’s the most haunting sound you’ve heard. It encourages you to move, at last. You didn’t realize you could. There’s a light that filters through the surface of the water…

…and you wake up. You feel strangely refreshed, like that’s the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages! You also feel… distantly sad, like you’ve just remembered something horrible that happened a long time ago.

It’s probably nothing.

For the rest of the month, you find sleep comes easy, and dreams are soothing. How uncharacteristically nice! Maybe don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

A BITTER ARRIVAL

You wake up to bitter cold. It's dark, the winds howling and whipping through the air, snow battering anything not sturdy enough to stand tall against it... and even the trees seem like one more push could knock them over. This isn't a forest you know, yet it seems like home. If you're not prepared for the cold, the warm lights of a small town will guide you, call to you, and your heart yearns for warmth. As you stumble through the heavy snow and harsh winds, something heavy hangs from your neck and the winds begin to form words with your own voice- SACRIFICE... END THIS WINTER WITH SACRIFICE.

As more voices join the wretched wails, your eyes feel heavier. You're almost to the town, though. Is it one of the houses that you wind up knocking on? Or do you manage to get to the inn, big and tall and radiating more warmth than anything you've ever felt? Regardless, you are no longer alone, but the cold still aches and clings, and something with your voice still calls it's omens outside. Only when you melt the heavy snowflake-shaped amulet hanging around your neck in the fires does the cold abate and the foreign copy of your voice fall silent.

A COLD RECEPTION

In the forest of the lost, the worst winter you've ever seen has finally set in full. The lake and river are both frozen over completely, and even the most hardy of beasts have hidden away from the cruel blizzard. The sky is dark, the winds are sharp and the freezing temperatures permeate most buildings, creeping in like a thief ready to steal the breath from your lungs if you aren't careful. Even fires seem to bend to this cold, save for the ever-burning, ever-blinding light of the fireplace in the inn- though she's long since gone, it seems one woman's faith still protects those in the Grove. Shadows haunt the clearing and amongst the winds and even the deafest ears can hear the voices howling alongside the storm, always demanding the same thing: a sacrifice.

When shadows flicker across the window, that is when you know you aren't alone. Ghastly wraiths of frost and ragged sleet fly through the air, and it's hard to tell if they are commanding the winter winds or if they are working in tandem. Regardless, the cold seems to be enhanced by their presence and if they catch you alone outside, they curse you with a frost so deep it pierces the heart and spreads. To some, it may be familiar, like turning to ice from within. To others it may be entirely new. But it spreads slowly and with agony while the wraiths make their demand once more and then vanish. Thankfully, a bit of kindness can melt the ice, but the winter wraiths are always willing to inflict the curse again...

... But you are not powerless. So long as you don't go alone, so long as you have a weapon, you can fend these things off, for a time. But they will be back.

They must have their sacrifice, after all.

BEACONS

Not everyone can fight though. Not everyone should. The only peace that can be found is in the sleep that follows that odd dream... but eventually the large shadow woman known as the Trader, Ydalir, makes her way through the snow to find you. With a warm furry blanket and a cup of tea, she gives you a small kit.

"Build these lanterns and hang them in the window. Be a light in the dark, loves." Is what she says.

The lanterns consist of wood, paper and a little cup for a candle. They can be in any shape and color, and when you hang them in the window the candle sparks into light. As frost clings on the other side of the window and the snow shrouds the outside world and veils what lies beyond, you can see other lights. Other lanterns, shining brightly. It may not be much, but it is still a sign. A reminder. You are not alone in this blizzard.

Spark Notes

summary

wakes and awakenings will bring you into a strange dream of being with many being, important ones, and a haunting song. Despite the melancholy feeling, it also brings a month of restful sleep no matter what.

a bitter arrival is how our new arrivals find themselves: lost in the woods in the middle of a terrible blizzard with only the faint lights of the Grove to guide you to safety. While you wear the snowflake amulet, the winter wraiths can use a mimicry of your voice to make their demands and curse you with a lingering freeze- only melting the amulets in a fire will set you free and silence the copy of your voice in the cacophony.

a cold reception shows just how bad the winter's gotten, with impenetrable ice freezing both the lake and the river solid. the wraiths curse whoever they see with turning to ice from within, but a genuine act of kindness or love will save their victims. the wraiths can be fought, but only with a companion or two, and definitely not with your bare hands. ... they will return though, again and again.

beacons grants perhaps a bit of hope in this dark winter- ydalir brings people supplies as best she can since the cold doesn't affect her shadowy body and there is nothing for the wraith to freeze, and she also brings a gift- a lantern to craft and hang in the window to show the others in town that you're all still here, cutting through the darkness.

out of character

Welcome to the first TDM of 2025! Regular AC resumes this month and as you can see, we're changing things up a little. TDMers are welcome and encouraged to reach out on our plotting post linked below. We're so excited to start the new year with everyone, and may the horrors stay in writing... because they are resuming now.

updates

❖ AFFOGATO COOKIE has used a magical artifact as a sacrifice. This has resulted in the blizzard lessening but still being present and the wraiths being banished from the grove, but still haunting the forest. There are further effects but they will come in to play during a player plot. ... Get your sacrifices in still though.
❖ MAYOI'S prayer to Ourania the day of the fight with Suri invoked a blessing: an aurora shines through the sky, and anyone in it's lights will be gradually healed and soothed.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ January Plotting (Open to TDMers)
❖ Sacrifices (Plot relevant, open to all)
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, so?? You can be a nice pirate! A gentleman pirate!!

[Now that Thorns is out of ammo...Elysium will grab the nearest pillow and start whapping him with it without letting it go. Whap whap whap-]

I have you now, you cur! Have at you!!

[aaaaAAAAAAA—

Thorns, forced on the back foot here, puts both hands up to try to deflect. It works only somewhat, the pillow is still smacking him in the face regardless. Whap whap whap—]

It would only be a fair fight if I were also— [pwah] —armed!

[He attempts to shuffle over to grab a fallen pillow from the nest of those on the floors, and tries to parry the strikes.]

[Thorns will be successful, because Elysium is starting to get a little winded. He's still laughing inbetween breaths as he meets Thorns' strikes with his own, and if these pillows happen to have down in them, there are probably little feathers floating around in the air by now.]

Fair? You came at me without any warning! That's hardly fair!

You had— [bleh bleh feather in mouth, whether it's one of Elysium's or a pillow feather is unknown,] —your chance to gauge my movements before I struck.

[He was gauging how close your lips were to his, Thorns. He was not watching anything else. Please you have got to stop being this oblivious.

Anyway. Thorns tries smacking Elysium with a now almost-empty pillowcase, realises that it's empty, leans down to try to grab another... loses his footing completely and falls back onto the mattress instead.

Good job genius.]

[It's a good thing these rooms repair themselves. Hopefully that includes what's in them too...these poor pillows.

Anyway, when Thorns falls back, Elysium takes this as his opportunity to pounce. He springs forward with his own pillow and plants a knee on the mattress between Thorns' legs (he's not even trying to make this suggestive this time, but oops) so he can smash the pillow he's holding (gently) right into his face.

WHAP.]

And now you're at my mercy! Admit defeat!

[Thorns is Squashed. Might as well smother him with that sucker while he's down here because you Know his ass ain't slept in ??????? anyway— if he were a meaner overly-competitive roommate, he might've kicked Elysium between the legs, but instead he tries to reach up for his arms and then (gently) shoves at the Liberi's thighs with his bare feet. Trying to push him away, but not hurt him.]

If I [whap] admit defeat— [it's hard to talk like this, actually,] —I'll never hear the end of—

[This is hopeless. He has to un-smother himself. Of course his face will be all flushed when he can breathe again, and he's panting to catch his breath, dishevelled because of being ASSAILED via PILLOW... and Elysium's leg is between his. Feast your eyes on it, he's never going to look this way ever again.]

[............Elysium may not have calculated what he might do if he got to this point, haha um-

It!! Was not meant to be suggestive, at all, but when he pulls his pillow back to deliver the finishing blow, and Thorns looks up at him like that?

All of Elysium's fight leaves him. His eyebrows pinch together and his mouth quirks in a funny way that Thorns is absolutely too oblivious to clock, a nervous little laugh tittering its way out of him.

Haha....he didn't even hear what Thorns said his ears are ringing suddenly Thorns now's your chance-]

[Yeah, he has no idea why Elysium's lips curl like that. In Thorns' mind, his roommate is Plotting his downfall, and so he takes decisive action to grab that pillow from him — yoink! — and whomp him one last time as he sits up.]

There. Are you warmed up now?

[Thorns, you have no IDEA the power you have over this poor bird.]

[He has no idea and it's a crime, truly. Like if Thorns knew anything, he could have Elysium on his knees with a single word. He has this man WHIPPED and he doesn't even know.

Anyway, the pillow fighting has stopped, but Elysium still feels all riled. He's short of breath and his heart has yet to stop racing as he quickly shifts to sit next to him instead of over him, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed as if nothing ever happened.]

O-oh yeah! Toasty as a baby burdenbeast!

[He'll reach up to adjust his hair, trying to will his feathers to lay down but they refuse. They're all fluffed up like aaa]

That was fun, ahah...I don't think I've gotten to play with you like that in so long.

[Sidelong smirk... he continues to be oblivious. Sorry Elysium, you're gonna have to say something eventually... and/or continue the next five years like this I guess, like y'all already did the first five what's five more?]

We didn't get to when you were aboard the ship. There wasn't time, between me repairing the compass and all the Inquisition attacks.

[Pulling stray feathers out of Elysium's hair... twirling them between his fingers. These are clearly fowlbeast feathers, they're too short and fluffy to be anything else. And yes, he does note that Elysium himself is puffed out, but he thinks it's cause of their stupid game and not anything else.]

Mmm, no I guess not...

[Elysium laughs faintly as Thorns pulls feathers from his hair, lifting a hand to tuck a lock of those long red bangs behind his ear.]

...it was nice. Don't you think so?

It was.

[Of course it was. Well, neither of them know that things here often get worse than being aboard an old Iberian ship in the middle of nowhere, but... you know, they can live in some amount of peace for now. It's fine! They're fine.

Thorns is undoing half the buttons on his shirt now. Getting read to lie down and rest for a while... his ass didn't sleep for multiple days, time is weird here and the fatigue will eventually hit him like a truck.

He's lying down on the bed now with a brief sigh. Ough, real mattress...]

So. I get the window spot?

You...do......

[Shirt unbuttoning? Shirt?? ?????

Elysium is trying to be normal. He is trying so hard, man, but Thorns is making it SO HARD MAN-

He pats his hands idly on the sides of the mattress as Thorns flops over, before he'll just...flop down onto the bed beside him, folding his hands across his chest to try to keep temptation at bay.

(It's not working)]

Mmhm. If you want. I mean, it might be pretty cold, but...I think you can tolerate that better than I can.

[...Elysium scooches a little closer, his head "accidentally" touching Thorns' arm.]

[Accidentally, yes. Of course. As if you haven't been the big spoon for ????years, sir.]

Normally. The cold is abnormally strong here. [But you know what's super fucking cold, the goddamn ocean when you fall into it because your ass was going to check on something on the hull and fell in. Like. Why, why would you do that.] Aegir are more adaptable, so I'll be fine.

[Unlike Elysium, who will probably sleep under 16 blankets with his jacket on.]

Tomorrow, we'll need to procure proper clothing, and we can keep investigating from there.

Oh...so we're not going back out today, then?

[Elysium rolls over a tiny bit, looking up at Thorns with his big eyes. Ah, he really is so pretty...so handsome. Especially with the way the slight bit of light comes in through the window, even with how cloudy and overcast it is with all the snow...]

I don't mind that. I've missed you...so it's nice to just spend time with you.

[He's toying a little with the loose edge of Thorns' shirt as he admits this, his thin fingers rubbing over one of his shirt buttons. Like this is not something a straight person does to their "friend".]

I haven't slept in... [........] Some days, I think, [scrunches his nose up,] and as much as I'd like to continue investigating, I think the fatigue will kill me before the cold does.

[And yet he still feels so fucking wired... which means he definitely chugged one of his little potions he keeps on his belt earlier. Why would you do this.]

Not that I'm ready to fall asleep yet. [Go to bed.] Surely you're just as exhausted? Weren't you out all day?

[He is Watching Elysium play with his shirt, by the way. Curious. Why is he doing that.]

[Rubbing that button...idly tugs Thorns' shirt open a little more like hmm hmm...]

I was, but...then I found you. And it was like all my exhaustion went away.

[You're gay? You're gay.

Elysium sighs, huffing on a soft coo under his breath. Coo coo. He is content, but also a little nervous feeling, for obvious reasons.]

So you want to, ah...just stay here with me? Talking about nothing into our pillows like teenagers, heh...

[Well Elysium, you'd better undo some buttons if you want it all the way open. Good lord man.

Thorns has his arms crossed up behind his head, so that's helping pull it up a bit. He doesn't realise he's like, voguing on the bed or whatever. This is normally how he slept in the hammocks aboard the ship, so he's grown used to it now.]

Pretty much.

[The cooing is nice. His head turns, tilts, and he regards Elysium with a definitely-clueless golden stare.]

I'm sure you have some sort of gossip to share from the landship like always.

[Well I mean...if Thorns shows no sighs of discomfort, or trying to stop him...?

He will. It's a little hesitant at first, from idle button-toying to actually reaching both hands over to pull one of the buttons open. Then another...]

Haha, sorry. Just figure you might be more comfortable without this tight thing squeezing you...

[Squeezing...ur titties...]

But I guess I wouldn't say there's a whole lot by way of gossip to talk about. The Doctor is the same as they always are...being wonderful and amazing at their job and everything. I actually went to one of my scheduled physicals with Warfarin last week, are you proud of me? She said my health was "acceptable".

[Sir.]

It's not that tight.

[It's actually a fairly loose fit when untucked, but sure, whatever. Completely nonplussed over here, he will continue lying down with his shirt open. Like.

At some point you'd think he'd realise, but no. Nope, brain off. Obliviousness on. There's no fucking way. The only time he seems to be Aware of things is when it relates to the terms of a bet. If Elysium had made some stupid bet like "I bet I'll ask to marry you first" Thorns WOULD HAVE made this a contest.

Alas.

He snorts.]

"Acceptable", huh? Are you taking your meds?

["It's not that tight," what? Sorry he can't hear you he's unbuttoning, unbuttoning...slowly, still a bit hesitantly, but Thorns? Is not stopping him, soooooooooo...

His eyes glance up at Thorns, as if to make sure he isn't glaring at him or something and just being polite and not saying anything, before he goes back at it and finishes unbuttoning the buttons. It is unbuttoned, he is free, his chest is out. He is...going to be EVEN COLDER there's no logic behind Elysium doing this at all beyond wanting to see his chest and not thinking about the consequences.

H. Hh. At least he closed the door when they came in.]

I am. Don't worry.

[He doesn't really like to think about it. Or talk about it. Thorns probably knows this quite well, how he plays off his infection and just acts like it's not real, even though everyone with eyeballs knows he's hella eaten up with Oripathy. Like, if you can see it crystalized on your body, you're not doing well.

But that doesn't mean he isn't letting himself be treated for it. He has things to do. He can't be leaving yet.

Anyway. His hand, fingers curled into his palm, hovers awkwardly for a moment before he carefully lowers it and lets it rest on Thorns' chest. Then...he lays his head on his shoulder, literally laying against him like a lover would. Like CHRIST Elysium.]

It's not so bad when it's routine.

[Elysium Arknights—

As far as non-platonic cuddling goes, he's fine with this. Rhodes Island has dormitories, they have bunk beds, and after about a week together sleeping in their own bed, these two assholes were bunking on the bottom bunk together. It was after a particularly rough mission, injuries made it difficult to climb up that ladder, but after that it stuck. ...and got worse. And now they're just like this.

So yeah, Elysium lays on him, and Thorns thinks nothing of it, because of course he doesn't think anything of it. This is an Unusually Cuddly Liberi, as far as Thorns is concerned.

Still, he strays a hand to Elysium's hip, where his coat and shirt cover the worst of his Oripathy.]

There's a clinic here. You'll have to see if they have the proper medication. I haven't seen the Doctor, Warfarin, Kal'tsit... the usual lot.

[No Jordi :( ]

[Thing is...Elysium isn't super confident they do. Why would they? This isn't Terra, it's not Rhodes...and he's fortunate that he's working somewhere that has proper treatment for him. Most people don't have that...and now, Elysium may not have it either.

Thorns puts a hand along his hip, and Elysium's feathers rise up reflexively even more. They're practically trembling at attention now as his fingers very lightly press against that toned chest of his as he stares across it at the far wall, thinking to himself what are you doing while at the same time berating himself for not doing what he wishes he could. Thorns could disappear again for another six months, and then where would he be? Lonely...sad, without him.

His expression tenses as he curls up closer, feeling warm and save in the curve of Thorns' side.]

Haha...yeah. I'm not too worried about that right now. I don't think they're here, but...it's not like they could do much anyway.

[Not without their equipment, the proper medication...sighs.

Elysium doesn't want to think about nerve-wracking stuff like Oripathy, though. He is vibrating internally, his eyes slowly shifting up to look at Thorns through his bangs. His fingers slowly trace their way up his chest a little, up towards his collar...he finds that longer section of his hair once he reaches up far enough, playing with it a bit with his fingertips.]

I really missed you.

[Ooh. That... that tickles a bit, the way fingers ghost over his skin. And he's starting to feel the least bit cold, too. Maybe trying to be casual so he could lay down comfortably was a bad idea.

He'll totally blame the brief shiver on that. Nothing else happening here. Good lord you two have tension enough to cut it into bricks and build a house with it.]

It's been lonely without your yapping. [Negative rizz over here.] ...you kept the mood up even while we were under attack, and I couldn't have found the willpower to repair the Compass without you.

[Okay, maybe a little more rizz now.]

I understand why you had to go back to Rhodes Island, but it's been strange sleeping alone.

[Thorns. Thorns do you hear yourself.]

[Thorns doesn’t even realize how gorgeous he is, does he? He’s an Adonis of a person and he just doesn’t know. Elysium thinks these things as he toys with his hair now, which is very likely his vain attempt to keep his hands from wandering too far elsewhere.

And yet…

Thorns may have negative rizz at the best of times, but he sure knows how to make Elysium feel like a lovesick puppy in over his head, despite the fact they’re cuddling like lovers right now. The Liberi exhales on another breathless laugh.]

I know you’re…not supposed to be here. I’m not, either. But…

[…]

Are you still happy being here, with me?

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